Cricket has lagged behind in handling bad behaviour because we have tended to see it as the gentleman's game where the captains control the players on the field

Malcolm Gray

Gray says captains can no longer control their players

"Other sports have made sure players do not go in a downward spiral.

"Soccer has yellow and red cards and in tennis the likes of John McEnroe would arguably not exist today because of the way players are regulated.

"Whereas within cricket we have tended to see it as the gentleman's game and on the field the players are controlled by the captains.

"The administrators have not done enough to make sure the players' behaviour is spot on."

The proposals will be considered at the ICC's meeting in June with a view to introducing them next April, sooner if possible.

Men in the middle under increasing pressure

Gray said the question of referees also required urgent consideration.

"We've got to get away from referees being just the old boy network," he said.

"And a lot of them are getting very old."

Speaking on BBC TV, the chief executive of the ICC, David Richards, agreed that the future of umpiring was one of the most important issues facing the game.

"The most urgent priority for us [the ICC] is taking on the role of umpires," he said.

'Hard and good'

"We've already made plans to spend a great deal of money to help professionalise them."

Richards refused to take a swipe at the players, after both England and Sri Lanka were heavily criticised for dissent.

"We don't regard the players as being a problem," he said. "By and large cricketers are very well behaved across the world.

"They play hard and they play good and, remember, it can be pretty tough when you're out in the middle."